1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the fabrication of solid state devices and, more particularly, to the fabrication of local interconnects.
2. Description of the Background
Local interconnects are a mechanism used during the fabrication of solid state devices to make connections between structures, such as between the terminals of transistors, to thereby provide electrical interconnections between devices. xe2x80x9cLocal interconnectsxe2x80x9d, as the name implies, refers to interconnects that extend between adjacent devices, or devices that are relatively close to one another, as opposed to connections extending across a circuit or chip. Connections that are approximately thirty microns or less are typically referred to as local interconnects.
One type of circuit where local interconnects are used is a six transistor, static random access memory, or 6T SRAM. A circuit diagram of a 6T SRAM cell is illustrated in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, a 6T SRAM cell 10 is coupled between complimentary bit lines 12 and 14 and is coupled to a word line 16. Memory cell 10 includes a load transistor 18, a load transistor 20, a drive or pull down transistor 22 and a drive or pull down transistor 24. Transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24 are coupled together to form cross-coupled inverters having a storage node 26 and a storage node 28.
Transistors 18 and 20 are preferably P-channel transistors, but may be replaced by polysilicon or other resistors, N-channel depletion mode transistors, or other electrical devices for raising the voltage at storage nodes 26 and 28 when pull down transistors 22 and 24 are turned off, respectively. Pull down transistors 22 and 24 are preferably N-channel transistors, although other types of transistors such as bipolar transistors or other devices may be utilized.
Storage node 26 is coupled to a pass gate transistor 30 which is controlled by word line 16. Storage node 28 is coupled to a pass gate transistor 32 which is also controlled by word line 16. Pass gate transistors 30 and 32 are preferably N-channel enhancement mode transistors, although other types of transistors may be utilized.
Transistors 18 and 22 form a first inverter having an input at conductive line 23, and transistors 20 and 24 form a second inverter having an input at conductive line 25. Conductive line 23 is coupled to the output of the second inverter formed by transistors 20 and 24 (i.e. storage node 28). Similarly, conductive line 25 is coupled to the output of the first inverter formed by transistors 18 and 22 (i.e. storage node 26). Thus, transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24 form cross coupled inverters having outputs at storage nodes 26 and 28.
In operation, cell 10 stores logic signals, or information such as a logic 1 (e.g., VCC) or logic 0 (e.g., ground) on nodes 26 and 28.
With reference to FIG. 10, a top view schematic layout drawing of a portion of cell 10 is shown. Transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24 are illustrated as lateral transistors. Alternatively, transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24 can be vertical transistors, or thin film transistors. A gate 34 of transistor 22 is coupled to node 28 via polysilicon conductive lines 23 and 36 and a gate 38 of transistor 24 is coupled to node 26 via polysilicon conductive lines 25 and 40. Lines 23, 36 and 25, 40 cross couple transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24.
A drain 42 of transistor 22 is coupled to node 26 via a local interconnect 44, and a drain 46 of transistor 24 is coupled to node 28 via a local interconnect 48. A source 50 of transistor 22 is coupled to ground, and a source 52 of transistor 24 is coupled to ground.
The local interconnect 44 is electrically coupled to the polysilicon conductive line 25 at node 26. The local interconnect 48 is electrically coupled to the polysilicon line 23 at the node 28. Local interconnects 44 and 48 can be any conductive material such as doped polysilicon, amorphous polysilicon, a single layer of metal (tungsten), or other substances. Additionally, local interconnects 44 and 48 can each be coupled to various other items associated with cell 10 or other integrated circuit elements. Preferably, local interconnects 44 and 48 are utilized to provide additional connections for cell 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,899 entitled Local Interconnect Structure And Process For Six-Transistor SRAM Cell discloses a method of fabricating local interconnects and a local interconnect that is comprised of a glue layer and a plug layer. An etch is performed to remove the plug layer from above the surface of the insulating layer. That leaves the glue layer for forming the local interconnects.
The particular geometry, and materials described with reference to FIG. 10 are shown only as exemplary embodiment. The particular geometry of cell 10 can be adjusted various ways to provide particular operating parameters for cell 10. For example, transistors 18, 20, 22 and 24 can be provided at various orientations to form cell 10. Changes in orientation will change the location of the local interconnects. Design rules are used to determine the size and position of structures within a given circuit design.
Some of the design rules which must be considered when designing a 6T SRAM cell utilizing local interconnects as well as other types of memory cells and other devices are explained with reference to FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, a moat 58 underlies a conducting line 60. These two elements are generally separated by a dielectric (not shown). A transistor may be formed from these elements. A conducting line 62 is located outside of moat 58. Local interconnect 64 overlies and connects moat region 58 and conducting line 62.
As is well known, design rules must be formulated and applied to any integrated circuit design configuration or process. These rules specify minimum (or maximum) distances for reliability and operation of the device. The rules are dependent upon many factors such as the variability in dimensions of the structures fabricated and the variability in alignment of one structural material to another. Both variabilities depend in turn on fabrication techniques applied and tolerances of the equipment used in fabrication. Illustrated in FIG. 11 are five minimum design rules which together dictate the minimum width to which the configuration shown may be fabricated. Distance xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d is the minimum line width for a polysilicon conducting line for a given device and fabrication process. A minimum distance xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d may be, for example, 0.8 xcexcm. Note that the distances specified herein for design rules are exemplary only and would vary for different configurations and design processes. Distance xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d is the distance required between two conducting lines. A typical minimum distance xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d may be 1.0 xcexcm. Distance xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d represents the minimum allowed distance between a local interconnect and an unrelated conducting line. This distance may be, for example, 0.7 xcexcm. Distance xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d is the distance that the local interconnect 64 overlaps the moat region 58. A typical minimum design rule for distance xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d is 0.8 xcexcm. Distance xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d is the distance that the local interconnect 64 overlaps the conducting line 62. A typical design rule minimum for distance xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d may be 0.6 xcexcm. As can be seen then, the minimum width for this configuration from one conducting line to the other, including the width of both lines, must be at least a+c+d+e+(axe2x88x92e). For the exemplary design rule distances given above, that would result in a minimum distance of 3.1 xcexcm.
Additionally, it can be seen that the alignment of the local interconnect 64 over the conducting line is critical to achieve minimum distance xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d while not extending over the conducting line to thereby increase the width. Thus, production of local interconnects requires the careful alignment of a dedicated local interconnect mask.
The drive to make the fabrication process for circuits faster and easier depends, in part, on the ability to fabricate circuits in a manner that requires fewer masking steps. Thus, there is a need for a method of fabricating local interconnects without a separate step for aligning and using a local interconnect mask.
The invention is a method of fabricating a circuit in a manner to place certain structures within a predefined distance of one another. Electrical connections are formed between certain structures by a silicon out-diffusion which forms local interconnects. The silicon out-diffusion can be facilitated without a masking step thereby simplifying as well as speeding up the fabrication process.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of fabricating local interconnects in a circuit without using a mask to define the local interconnects begins by fabricating the structures that are to be connected by a local interconnect within a bridging distance of one another. A metal layer is formed on top of at least the structures to be electrically connected together. The layer of metal is heated to cause an out-diffusion of a conductive element from material adjacent to the deposited metal so as to form electrical connections between the structures within the bridging distance. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the metal is formed on top of polysilicon such that the out-diffusion of the conductive element includes the out-diffusion of silicon. Residual metal/metal nitrides are removed from the oxide surface after local interconnect formation, i.e. post silicon out-diffusion and RTP anneal.
The present invention eliminates a masking step which is typically required to form the local interconnects. The present invention is particularly useful in the fabrication of a 6T SRAM cell and may be used on various types of integrated chips which carry more than one type of memory and logic on a chip. These advantages and benefits, and others, will be apparent from the Description of the Preferred Embodiment hereinbelow.